Verona - Romeo and Juliet

Our time in Verona was very short, it was a 3 hour stop en route from Lake Maggiore to Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Dolomite Mountains. You would really need quite a few days to do this place justice.

Verona's origins date back to ancient times, and from what I have read, the first settlements may date back to prehistoric times.

The old city retains the traditional grid layout of Roman towns. Below is a photo of moi, in front of some of the old roman walls

Escavations reveal some of the Roman ruins in Via Cappello

We stopped at the Casa di Giuletta (Juliet's House) and checked out the famous balcony of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet .

We then wandered up to Piazza Erbe - named after the city's old herb market

It is so alive, full of stalls selling herb flavoured roast suckling pig in bread rolls to fresh picked fruit and wild mushrooms, and of course the few usual touristy stalls as well.

Casa Mazzanti stands out on one side of Piazza Erbe with it's 16th century wall frescos still visible above the cafes

Verona Madonna fountain in Piazza Erbe dates from the Roman times, and serves as a reminder that this Piazza has been used as a market-place for 2000 years.

At the northern end of Piazza Erbe is the Palazzo Maffei (1668) below, surmounted by statues. In front of the Palazzo rises a column supporting the Venetian Lion marking Verona's absorption into the Venetian empire (1405)

After enjoying the atmosphere in Piazza Erbe we set off for Piazza Bra

We passed some angels near Verona's enormous Roman Arena (1st Century)

The 3rd largest in Italy, and one of the best preserved - world famous operas are held within this magnificent ancient structure every summer.

We are now in the "Liston" the wide pavement - the traditional promenade for the locals

around Piazza Bra

We walked around the exterior of Palazzo's

So many "towers"

Italy - must be the king of Towers and Tunnels !!

Our final stop before meeting up with Carlo and Stephanie, was a little Tavern for a quick snack for lunch - Stephanie had raved about it, so we had to try it - as did most in our group - and what we had was superb.

We exited Verona across the Adige River to head to the Italian Alps

*****

Obviously not nearly enough time for Verona, but quite honestly every place in Italy needs many days to explore, unfortunately one can't do it all.